COVID-19 numbers continue to spike
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
Allegheny County led the state with the most new coronavirus cases Friday, while Westmoreland County reported its highest number of patients hospitalized with the virus.
The Healthcare Coalition of Southwest Pennsylvania which includes all Mon Valley counties, reported 25.6% of its hospitals anticipate staffing shortages within the next week and 46% of all hospital beds are expected to be available in the next three days.
In Allegheny County, there have been 122 COVID-19 deaths reported since the new year began — that’s about 15 deaths a day — according to the county health department.
Fayette County has reported 22 deaths since Jan. 1, and Washington County lost 17 residents to the illness. Westmoreland County has reported 44 COVID-19 fatalities in the first eight days of the year.
The state has seen more than 1,000 deaths in the first week of the year. Against that backdrop, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine held a press conference updating Pennsylvanians on changes in the vaccine plan.
So far the state has received 827,300 doses of the two approved vaccines and 235,000 Pennsylvanians are known to have been vaccinated, Levine said.
There is a vaccination tracker on the Department of Health website, but information from CVS has not been uploaded into the system yet and Levine believes the number of people who have been vaccinated so far is higher than currently reported.
The plan outlining how the vaccine will roll out to residents has been updated to reflect changes in recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory committee.
The 1A category of people who are to be vaccinated first has been further defined so it’s clearer regarding the health care professionals and support professionals who need to be vaccinated.
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